THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH | VIKRANT KHANNA | BOOK REVIEW

My Impression :
PLOT: 3.5/5

WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5

CLIMAX: 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5
CHARACTERS: 3/5

Before you purchase, see: 

Publisher: Penguin Random House India (April 2017)

Language: English

Paperback: 213 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0-143-43994-3

Book Blurb :

Can true love bring someone back from the dead?

 Akshara is left devastated by her mother’s death and spends most of her time in solitude at the local park. One day, as she is sobbing uncontrollably, a young man named Harry approaches her. They become friends and Harry recounts to her a story about the miraculous reunion of a young woman and her dead boyfriend to help ease some of her pain. The story makes Akshara hopeful that she can perhaps see her dead mother again. 

But she soon realizes that Harry isn’t what he seems to be. Even the characters in his story seem dubious, almost unreal. So what is he hiding? And why? Is there any truth to his story at all?

In this darkly suspenseful romance mystery, Akshara is left facing a truth that will make her doubt not just Harry but herself as well ...

                                    When we do bad things, bad things happen to us.

What is inside the book?

As the blurb suggests, this novel presents the story of Harvinder Singh (Harry), Sahiba and Siddhartha (Sidhu). This book teaches us how the world changes if we start to believe the things positively. There is a saying that if we do not  change, nothing will change. Exactly, in the same way, if we really want to go forward in our life coping with all our sorrows, anxieties and depression, we need to think and believe that it's all happening because God wanted so; And after every dark night there is a beautiful sunshine. To understand the theme suggested by the writer, we need to be a believer first. Overall, this text believes in the existence of life even after death and more importantly, if a person is determined passionately to help others, he can make a great change in his surroundings  and in his own life too. Last but not the least, Hope is the thing that lures us towards living our life meaningfully.

                                            A thousand good deeds make a miracle.

Plot-line and the Characters :

Devastated after the mother's death, thirteen years old kid Akshara Malhotra spends most of her time mourning and lurking in the park. To ease her pain, Harvinder aka Harry starts to narrate a triangular love story between he himself, Sahiba Sethi and Siddhartha aka Sidhu.

The starting of the novel is unique and interesting. The story is filled to bound with tragedy and emotions. The author is able to maintain suspense till the end of the novel. However, after 30/35 pages, the story slows its pace and the narrator indulges more in hypothetical descriptions. The narrator of the novel, Harvinder aka Harry is presented as an unrealistic omniscient narrator. This leads the readers doubt on the entire plot he narrated as real. 

The writer has assembled the characters in the novel very carefully. However, except Akshara, no one seems enchanting and realistic to the readers. Shilpi Aunty and Ginny flickers as a light in the novel with no important and strong role. Shahib  Aashima, Asit, Vivek and Zibby, the dog are dead characters who were lost somewhere in the narration. Most of the characters seem over dramatic enveloped with unreal, imaginative situation. Although,  the text presents the fantasy world, it lacks sentiments and emotions. So, most of the characters seems lifeless and meaningless even in the real situations.

                       

                 The world is divided into cynics & believers. What matters is which group you come under.

Writing Style :

I personally like the way writer constructed the sentences to narrate the story. His simplistic writing style can attract any reader's mind. However, I found the latter part of the novel less emotional; the condition of Sahiba after Sidhu's death is very pathetic but the sentences are not able to ripple that pathetic emotion on the readers.

Climax :

The way the writer revealed the climax is unique in form. However, a smart reader can predict it easily. The book overall made a pleasurable read and that mattered me a lot.

                Love is dreaming the impossible, like bringing back a dead man.

Final Verdict :

This book is for those readers who are looking for a light read. Finally, for those who decide to read it, the book will also double up as an inspiring reading. However if you are a passionate crazy reader, you'll find it less impressive.